Inductive coupling assembly for an electronic device

ABSTRACT

An inductive coupling assembly for an electronic device is disclosed. The system may include an electronic device having an enclosure, and an internal inductive charging assembly positioned within the enclosure. The internal inductive charging assembly may include a receive inductive coil positioned within the enclosure. The system may also include a charger in electrical communication with the internal inductive charging assembly of the electronic device. The charger may include a transmit inductive coil aligned with the receive inductive coil. The transmit inductive coil may be configured to be in electrical communication with the receive inductive coil. Additionally, the system can include an inductive coupling assembly positioned between the electronic device and the charger. The inductive coupling assembly may include a field-directing component configured to be in electrical communication with the transmit inductive coil, and/or the receive inductive coil of the internal inductive charging assembly of the electronic device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a nonprovisional patent application of and claimsthe benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/056,789, filedSep. 29, 2014 and titled “Inductive Charging Systems for ElectronicDevices,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to electronic devices and, moreparticularly to inductive coupling assemblies positioned within anenclosure of the electronic device and inductive coupling assembliespositioned in a protective case positioned around at least a portion ofthe electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Many electronic devices include one or more rechargeable batteries thatrequire external power to recharge. Often, these devices may be chargedusing the same or similar connection type; for example, via universalserial bus (“USB”) or other electrical connections. Electricalconnection types may vary, and multiple devices often require separatepower supplies with different power outputs. These separate powersupplies are burdensome to use, store, and transport from place toplace.

SUMMARY

Some example embodiments are directed to a system that includes anelectronic device comprising an enclosure and an internal inductivecharging assembly positioned within the enclosure. The internalinductive charging assembly comprises a receive inductive coilpositioned within the enclosure. The system also comprises a charger inelectrical communication with the internal inductive charging assemblyof the electronic device. The charger comprises a transmit inductivecoil aligned with the receive inductive coil. The transmit inductivecoil is configured to be in electrical communication with the receiveinductive coil of the electronic device. Additionally, the systemcomprises an inductive coupling assembly positioned between theelectronic device and the charger. The inductive coupling assemblycomprises a field-directing component configured to be in electricalcommunication with at least one of the transmit inductive coil of thecharger, or the receive inductive coil of the internal inductivecharging assembly of the electronic device.

An electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device comprises anenclosure and an internal inductive charging assembly positioned withinthe enclosure. The internal inductive charging assembly comprises areceive inductive coil positioned within the enclosure. The electronicdevice also comprises an inductive coupling assembly embedded within theenclosure, adjacent the internal inductive charging assembly. Theinductive coupling assembly embedded within the enclosure comprises analignment component, and a field-directing component surrounding thealignment component. The field-directing component is aligned with thereceive inductive coil of the internal inductive coupling assembly.

A protective case coupled to an electronic device is disclosed. Theprotective case comprises a body and an inductive coupling assemblypositioned at least partially within the body. The inductive couplingassembly comprises an alignment component and a field-directingcomponent surrounding the alignment component. The field-directingcomponent is operatively configured to be aligned with and in electricalcommunication with a receive inductive coil of the electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1A shows an exploded view of an electronic device and a protectivecase, according to embodiments.

FIG. 1B shows a front view of the electronic device and the protectivecase of FIG. 1A, according to embodiments

FIG. 1C shows a back view of the electronic device and the protectivecase of FIG. 1A, according to embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of a charger for the electronic device,according to embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a back view of the electronic device and the protectivecase of FIG. 1A and the charger of FIG. 2, according to embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electronicdevice, the protective case and the charger, taken along line 4-4 inFIG. 3, according to embodiments.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electronicdevice, a protective case including an inductive coupling assemblypositioned therein, and the charger, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3,according to embodiments. The inductive coupling assembly positioned inthe protective case includes a magnet and an inductive repeater coil.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electronicdevice, a protective case including an inductive coupling assemblypositioned therein, and the charger, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3,according to additional embodiments. The inductive coupling assemblypositioned in the protective case includes a magnet material and aninductive repeater coil.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electronicdevice, a protective case including an inductive coupling assemblypositioned therein, and the charger, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3,according to further embodiments. The inductive coupling assemblypositioned in the protective case includes a magnet and a flux transfercomponent.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electronicdevice, a protective case including an inductive coupling assemblypositioned therein, and the charger, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3,according to another embodiment. The inductive coupling assemblypositioned in the protective case includes a magnet material and a fluxtransfer component.

FIG. 9 shows a back view of an electronic device and a protective case,according to further embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the electronicdevice, the protective case, and the charger, taken along line 10-10 inFIG. 9, according to embodiments.

FIG. 11 shows a back view of an electronic device and a protective case,according to another embodiment.

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electronicdevice, an inductive coupling assembly, a protective case, and acharger, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3, according to additionalembodiments.

FIG. 13 shows a system diagram of the electronic device of FIGS. 1A-1C,according to embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatthe following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments toone preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included withinthe spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

The following disclosure relates generally to electronic devices and,more particularly, to inductive coupling assemblies formed or positionedwithin an enclosure of the electronic device and inductive couplingassemblies positioned in a protective case positioned around a portionof the electronic device.

As discussed herein, electronic devices include an inductive couplingassembly. The user may place the device on an inductive charging surfacein order for the battery to be recharged. However, in order to producethe most efficient and/or effective charge between the device and theinductive charging surface, the transmitting component of the inductivecharging surface should be aligned with the receiving component in theelectronic device. Where the alignment between the inductive chargingcomponents is off, the efficiency in the inductive coupling to theelectronic device may be substantially reduced.

Additionally, as the distance between the transmitting component of theinductive charging surface and the receiving component in the electronicdevice increases, the efficiency and/or effectiveness of the transmittedpower decreases. As a result, it may be beneficial to place theelectronic device directly on the inductive charging surface. Where anintermediate layer or component, such as a cover or auxiliary case, ispositioned between the electronic device and the charging surface, theefficiency of charging the electronic device may be reduced.

In a particular embodiment, an enclosure for an electronic device or,alternatively, an auxiliary protective case surrounding the electronicdevice, includes an inductive coupling assembly to improve inductivecoupling for wirelessly charging a battery of the electronic device. Theinductive coupling assembly may be formed directly in the enclosure ofthe electronic device or may be positioned in a back portion of theprotective case, in alignment with an internal inductive chargingassembly of the electronic device. The inductive coupling assemblypositioned in the enclosure or the protective case acts as anintermediate inductive coupling assembly, which may redirect or repeatthe inductive power supplied from a separate charger to the internalcharging assembly of the electronic device. The inductive couplingassembly may reduce or minimize the amount of power that is lost betweenthe charger and the internal inductive charging assembly. Additionally,the effect of a gap or distance between the charger and the internalinductive charging assembly may be reduced or minimized. When wirelesslycharging the electronic device, the intermediate inductive couplingassembly may redirect or repeat the inductive power supplied from thecharger to the device. This function of the inductive coupling assemblymay improve the efficiency of power transmission between the charger andthe electronic device, which may result in faster charging times andreduce wasted power.

In some implementations, the inductive coupling assembly includes analignment component and a field-directing component surrounding thealignment component. The alignment component may be used to align orlocate the charger with respect to the electronic device. The inductivecoupling assembly aids in the power transmission as a result of thefield-directing component redirecting or repeating the inductive fieldfrom a transmit inductive coil of a charger to a receive inductive coilof the electronic device. Additionally, the inductive coupling assemblyaids in power transmission where the field-directing component providesan intermediate inductive field transmitter or repeater between thetransmit inductive coil of the charger and the receive inductive coil ofthe electronic device. The intermediate inductive field transmitter orrepeater strengthens, increases, and/or improves the power transmittedthrough components such as a case or an enclosure of the electronicdevice prior to the power reaching the receive inductive coil of theelectronic device. The alignment component also aids in powertransmission by aligning the field-directing component with the transmitinductive coil of the charger and the receive inductive coil of theelectronic device, respectively.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1A-13. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatthe detailed description given herein with respect to these Figures isfor explanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

FIGS. 1A-1C show one example of an electronic device. The electronicdevice 100 includes a battery (510 of FIG. 13) for supplying power tothe device 100 and an internal inductive charging assembly 120positioned within the electronic device 100 (FIG. 1C). The internalinductive charging assembly 120 is configured to interact with a chargeror charging source to recharge the battery of the electronic device 100.To improve charging efficiency and/or decrease charging time (e.g.,duration of time to achieve a full battery or “100%” battery life) forthe electronic device 100, the internal inductive charging assembly 120discussed herein includes an alignment component, such as a magnet 124,and a power receive inductive coil 122.

As discussed herein, the electronic device 100 can utilize and/orinteract with an inductive coupling assembly (see, FIGS. 5-12)positioned within the enclosure 102 of the electronic device 100, oralternatively, within a protective case 200 surrounding the electronicdevice 100. The inductive coupling assembly can includes an alignmentcomponent and a field-directing component surrounding the alignmentcomponent. As discussed herein, the inductive coupling assemblyredirects the power or inductive field supplied from a charger to theelectronic device 100. By redirecting or repeating the power orinductive field supplied by the charger, minimal amounts of power orinductive field may be lost due to “leakage” as the power travels fromthe charger to the electronic device 100. As a result, the efficiency ofcharging the electronic device 100 may be improved and/or the chargingtime is decreased.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, electronic device 100 is implemented as amobile telephone. However, it is understood that other embodiments canimplement electronic device 100 differently, such as, for example, as alaptop or desktop computer, a tablet computing device, a gaming device,a display, a digital music player, a wearable computing device ordisplay, a health monitoring device, and so on.

Electronic device 100 includes an enclosure 102 at least partiallysurrounding a display 104 and one or more buttons 106 or input devicesformed or positioned on a front surface 108 of electronic device 100.(Reference herein to a “button” generally is intended to encompass anysuitable form of input element, including switches, toggles, sliders,touch screens, and the like.) Enclosure 102 can form an outer surface orpartial outer surface and protective case for the internal components ofthe electronic device 100 and may at least partially surround display104. Enclosure 102 can be formed of one or more components operablyconnected together, such as a front piece and a back piece.Alternatively, enclosure 102 can be formed of a single piece operablyconnected to display 104. Additionally, enclosure 102 may be formed froma variety of material including, but not limited to: reinforced glass,plastic, metal, artificially grown corundum, and any combination ofmaterial. Enclosure 102 may also include an opaque frame 110substantially surrounding and/or outlining display 104. Frame 110 ofenclosure 102 may surround display 104 to indicate the interactivedisplay 104 of electronic device 100. Frame 110 may not be a distinctcomponent but rather may be a darkened or painted portion of a coverglass covering and protecting display 104, which may visually aid a userto identify the area of electronic device 100 that includes interactivedisplay 104.

As shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, electronic device 100 may be positioned withina protective case 200. A body 202 of protective case 200 may be coupledto and/or substantially surround electronic device 100 such that themajority of enclosure 102 of electronic device 100 is positioned withinprotective case 200. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, body 202 of protectivecase 200 may substantially surround the majority of enclosure 102 ofelectronic device 100 except for display 104 and other portions ofelectronic device 100, as discussed herein. The illustrated size ofprotective case 200 may vary between embodiments. Body 202 of protectivecase 200 can form an additional or auxiliary protective case toenclosure 102 of electronic device 100 to protect electronic device 100and its components (e.g., display 104, button 106, and othercomponents).

Body 202 can be formed of one or more components operably connectedtogether, such as a front piece and a back piece. Alternatively, body202 of protective case 200 can be formed of a single piece capable ofbeing coupled to electronic device 100. Body 202 may be coupled toelectronic device 100 using any suitable technique including, but notlimited to, a compression fit, retention fit, snap fit of two-pieceenclosure that joins together to hold the device and so on.Additionally, in some embodiments body 202 of protective case 200 may beformed from a substantially flexible and/or resilient material that mayprotect electronic device 100 from damage and/or exposure tocontaminants. In a non-limiting example, body 202 may be formed from apolymer rubber. Body 202 may be semi-rigid or rigid in otherembodiments, or may be rigid in certain regions and flexible in others.

Body 202 may have a front opening 204 formed therein to expose display104 and button 106 of electronic device 100, although this is notrequired and some bodies may enclose one or both of display and button.As shown in FIG. 1B, front opening 204 may be larger than display 104but smaller than enclosure 102 of electronic device 100. Front opening204 may be larger than display 104, and the area including button 106may ensure that display 104 and button 106 are not obstructed or blockedfrom a user of electronic device 100. Additionally, by including frontopening 204 of body 202 being smaller than enclosure 102, electronicdevice 100 may be coupled to and/or remain within body 202 of protectivecase 200 during use of electronic device 100.

FIG. 1C shows a back view of electronic device 100 and protective case200. Electronic device 100 may include an internal inductive chargingassembly 120 (shown in phantom). Internal inductive charging assembly120 may be positioned within enclosure 102 of electronic device 100 andmay be positioned substantially adjacent and/or parallel to back wall118 of electronic device 100, as discussed herein. As discussed below indetail, internal inductive charging assembly 120 is in electricalcommunication with a battery (see, FIG. 13) of electronic device 100 andis configured to receive power from a charger (see, FIG. 2) for chargingthe battery of electronic device 100. Additionally as discussed herein,the charger provides power through enclosure 102 of electronic device100 such that internal inductive charging assembly 120 inductivelycharges the battery of electronic device 100.

As shown in FIG. 1C, internal inductive charging assembly 120 mayinclude at least one receive inductive coil 122 (shown in phantom)positioned within enclosure 102. Receive inductive coil 122 may bepositioned within the enclosure 102 and may not be exposed outside ofenclosure 102 of electronic device 100 although, in some embodiments, atleast a portion of receive inductive coil 122 may be externallyaccessible or exposed. Receive inductive coil 122 may receive power froma distinct source or device and, in certain circumstances andembodiments, may also transmit power.

As discussed herein, receive inductive coil 122 may be in electricalcommunication with a transmit inductive coil of a charger for electronicdevice 100 for receiving power when suitably aligned and the charger isactive. The phantom circle representing receive inductive coil 122 inFIG. 1C is one example of a sample location where receive inductive coil122 may be positioned within electronic device 100.

In a non-limiting example as shown in FIG. 1C, receive inductive coil122 may be formed from a wire or other suitable conductive element thatmay be configured to form a plurality of concentric loops or converging,spiraling circles. The wire forming receive inductive coil 122 may beformed from any suitable conductive material including, but not limitedto, metals, conductive polymers, conductive composites and the like.However, it is understood that inductive coil 122 of electronic device100 may be formed from any suitable material and may be configured in avariety of geometries to allow the transfer of power to electronicdevice 100, as discussed herein. Further, the size, shape, spacingand/or location of receive inductive coil 122 and constituent loops mayvary between embodiments.

Internal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronic device 100 mayalso include at least one alignment magnet 124 positioned adjacent toreceive inductive coil 122, although this is not required. As shown inFIG. 1C, an alignment magnet 124 may be positioned within the center ofreceive inductive coil 122, such that the wires of receive inductivecoil 122 substantially surround alignment magnet 124 of electronicdevice 100. As discussed herein, receive inductive coil 122 andalignment magnet 124 may also be substantially aligned in a commonplane. Alignment magnets 124 of electronic device 100 may be utilized toalign receive inductive coil 122 with a charger of electronic device 100for transmitting power between receive inductive coil 122 and thecharger, as discussed herein. Alignment magnets 124 may be formed fromany suitable material that may include magnetic properties.

In some embodiments, the alignment magnet 124 may be an electromagnetand thus only emit a magnetic field when powered. This may be useful toprevent unwanted magnetic interference or adhesion during non-chargingoperation, but facilitate alignment while charging or shortly beforecharging. In some embodiments, the alignment magnet 124 may be poweredwhen an inductive charger is sensed in near proximity. As onenon-limiting example, a trickle current induced in the receive inductivecoil 122 or a suitable electronic circuit by the presence of aninductive charge may initiate power to the alignment magnet. In otherembodiments, periodic polling may take place by the electronic device100 to determine if an inductive charger is near; a response to thepolling indicating the presence of an inductive charger may initiatepower to the alignment magnet.

Electronic device 100 may also include a battery (see, FIG. 13)positioned within enclosure 102. The battery may be positioned withinenclosure 102 and may be in electrical communication with receiveinductive coil 122 of electronic device 100. As discussed herein,receive inductive coil 122 may be in electrical communication with thebattery to transmit power to the battery to increase the charge of thebattery. The battery may be utilized to power electronic device 100and/or provide a power source for inductively transmitting power fromreceive inductive coil 122 to another device or coil.

Electronic device 100 may have a camera 112 positioned on back wall 118.That is, camera 112 may be positioned on back wall 118, opposite frontsurface 108 having display 104 of electronic device 100. Camera 112 mayinclude any suitable camera device and/or system that may take photosand/or videos using electronic device 100.

Body 202 of protective case 200 may cover almost all of back wall 118 ofelectronic device 100. As shown in FIG. 1C, a back portion 206 of body202 may be positioned adjacent to, coupled to and/or may substantiallycover, back wall 118 of electronic device 100. A back opening 208 may beformed through back portion 206 of body 202 to expose and/or preventobstruction of camera 112 of electronic device 100.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of a charger 300 for electronic device 100 (suchas is shown in FIGS. 1A-1C). Charger 300 is configured to receiveelectric power from a wall outlet or other power source and provide thepower to electronic device 100, as discussed herein. In someembodiments, charger 300 has a contact plate 302 that contacts enclosure102 of electronic device 100 and/or body 202 of protective case 200 whencharging electronic device 100. Contact plate 302 may also house and/orprotect a plurality of internal components of charger 300. As shown inFIG. 2, a transmit inductive coil 304 (shown in phantom) may bepositioned or housed within contact plate 302. Thus, it is not necessarythat contact plate 302 is itself directly electrically conductive aspower may be inductively transferred through the plate between receiveinductive coil 122 and transmit inductive coil 304.

Transmit inductive coil 304 of charger 300 may be configured and/orformed from substantially similar material as receive inductive coil 122of electronic device 100. However, transmit inductive coil 304 mayprovide a distinct function. For example, transmit inductive coil 304may be a transmit coil that may transmit or provide power to receiveinductive coil 122, as discussed herein. The power transmitted bytransmit inductive coil 304 may be provided or supplied by power cord306 in electrical communication with transmit inductive coil 304, wherepower cord 306 is configured to interact and/or receive power from awall outlet or other power source.

Charger 300 may also include at least one alignment magnet 308 (shown inphantom) positioned adjacent to transmit inductive coil 304. As shown inFIG. 2, an alignment magnet 308 may be positioned within the center oftransmit inductive coil 304, such that the wires of transmit inductivecoil 304 substantially surround alignment magnet 308 of charger 300.Transmit inductive coil 304 and alignment magnet 308 may also besubstantially aligned along a common surface of contact plate 302.Alignment magnets 308 of charger 300 may be utilized to align transmitinductive coil 304 with electronic device 100 (see, FIGS. 1A-1C) fortransmitting power between transmit inductive coil 304 and electronicdevice 100 (see, FIGS. 1A-1C), as discussed herein. As the surface ofelectronic device 100 comes near the surface of charger 300, thealignment magnets 308 in charger 300 and alignment magnet 124 inelectronic device 100 (or case) may move the device 100 (or case) withrespect to charger 300, or vice versa. The magnetic field betweenalignment magnets 124, 308 is strongest when the two are directlyopposite one another, and the magnetic field may operate to locate thedevice and charger accordingly. This may likewise align the coils 122,304 with respect to one another in such a fashion that inductive powertransfer is enhanced or maximized. Alignment magnets 308 may be formedfrom any suitable material.

FIG. 3 shows a back view of charger 300 positioned on protective case200. Charger 300 may be positioned on back portion 206 of protectivecase 200 to provide power to electronic device 100, and charge thebattery (not shown) of electronic device 100. As shown in FIG. 3,contact plate 302 of charger 300 may contact back portion 206 ofprotective case 200 adjacent to back wall 118 of enclosure 102 whenproviding power to electronic device 100. As discussed herein, charger300 may be in electrical communication with internal inductive chargingassembly 120 (see, FIG. 1C) of electronic device 100 to provide powerthrough protective case 200 to electronic device 100.

FIG. 4 shows a side cross-sectional view of charger 300 positioned onback portion 206 of protective case 200 for providing power toelectronic device 100. As shown in FIG. 4, contact plate 302 may bepositioned on back portion 206 of protective case 200, adjacent to backwall 118 of enclosure 102 of electronic device 100. Contact plate 302may also be coupled to protective case 200 and/or electronic device 100as a result of the magnetic attraction between alignment magnet 124 ofelectronic device 100 and alignment magnet 308 of charger 300. Themagnetic attraction formed between alignment magnet 124 of electronicdevice 100 and alignment magnet 308 of charger 300 may pass throughprotective case 200 and may couple contact plate 302 of charger 300 toprotective case 200 and/or electronic device 100.

In addition to coupling charger 300 to protective case 200 and/orelectronic device 100, alignment magnet 124 of electronic device 100 maybe substantially aligned with (or may facilitate substantial alignmentwith) alignment magnet 308 of charger 300 when contact plate 302contacts back portion 206 of protective case 200. As a result, receiveinductive coil 122 of electronic device 100 may be in substantialalignment with transmit inductive coil 304 of charger 300. By aligningreceive inductive coil 122 and transmit inductive coil 304 usingalignment magnets 124, 308, power may be more effectively transmittedfrom transmit inductive coil 304, through protective case 200 andenclosure 102, to receive inductive coil 122, for charging the battery(not shown) of electronic device 100.

An inductive coupling assembly 400 (see, FIGS. 5-12) can also bepositioned between the internal inductive charging assembly 120 (e.g.,receive inductive coil 122, alignment magnet 124) of electronic device100 and charger 300. In non-limiting examples discussed in detail below,inductive coupling assembly 400 may be positioned within protective case200 (see, FIG. 5-8) or within enclosure 102 of electronic device 100(see, FIG. 12). Additionally as discussed herein, inductive couplingassembly 400 is positioned between the internal inductive chargingassembly of electronic device 100 and charger 300 to redirect or repeatthe inductive field from transmit inductive coil 304 of charger 300 toreceive inductive coil 122 of electronic device 100.

FIGS. 5-8 show cross-sectional side views of additional, non-limitingexamples of protective case 200 having an inductive coupling assembly400. That is, FIGS. 5-8 show additional, non-limiting examples ofprotective case 200 having an inductive coupling assembly 400 formed orpositioned within body 202. It is understood that similarly numberedand/or named components may function in a substantially similar fashion.Redundant explanation of these components has been omitted for clarity.

As shown in FIGS. 5-8, inductive coupling assembly 400 may include analignment component 402 a, 402 b, and a field-directing component 404 a,404 b surrounding alignment component 402 a, 402 b. As shown in FIGS.5-8, the alignment component 402 a, 402 b and field-directing component404 a, 404 b may be positioned within body 202 of protective case 200,such that alignment component 402 a, 402 b and field-directing component404 a, 404 b are positioned between charger 300 and internal inductivecharging assembly 120 of electronic device 100 during a charging event.As shown in FIGS. 5-8, alignment component 402 a, 402 b andfield-directing component 404 a, 404 b may be positioned within backportion 206 of body 202, adjacent back wall 118 of electronic device100. Inductive coupling assembly 400, and specifically alignmentcomponent 402 a, 402 b and field-directing component 404 a, 404 b may bepositioned within body 202 of protective case 200 using any suitablemanufacturing method. In a non-limiting example, the material formingbody 202 of protective case 200 may be injection molded on and/or aroundalignment component 402 a, 402 b and field-directing component 404 a,404 b and subsequently cured to form protective case 200 includinginductive coupling assembly 400.

When charger 300 is positioned on protective case 200 to chargeelectronic device 100, inductive coupling assembly 400 may besubstantially aligned and/or in electrical communication with thevarious components in electronic device 100 and charger 300. As shown inFIGS. 5-8, alignment component 402 a, 402 b may be magneticallyattracted to and/or magnetically coupled to alignment magnet 124 ofinternal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronic device 100 andalignment magnet 308 of charger 300. This magnetic attraction and/orcoupling between alignment component 402 a, 402 b and alignment magnets124 and 308 may also aid in coupling charger 300 to protective case 200and/or electronic device 100, as discussed herein. Alignment component402 a, 402 b may be formed from any of a number of materials and may beformed from multiple materials.

In addition to being magnetically attracted and/or magnetically coupled,alignment component 402 a, 402 b may be substantially aligned withalignment magnet 124 of electronic device 100 and alignment magnet 308of charger 300. As a result of the alignment between alignment component402 a, 402 b and alignment magnets 124, 308, as shown in FIGS. 5-8,field-directing component 404 a, 404 b may be in alignment with receiveinductive coil 122 of electronic device 100 and transmit inductive coil304 of charger 300, respectively. As similarly discussed herein, byaligning receive inductive coil 122, transmit inductive coil 304 andfield-directing component 404 a, 404 b, power may be more effectivelytransmitted from transmit inductive coil 304 to receive inductive coil122, using field-directing component 404 a, 404 b. Similar to alignmentcomponent 402 a, 402 b, field-directing component 404 a, 404 b may beformed from a variety of materials.

In a non-limiting example shown in FIG. 5, alignment component 402 a maybe formed from a magnet. Where alignment component 402 a is formed froma magnet, alignment component 402 a and alignment magnets 124, 308 mayeach produce a magnetic field that may magnetically attract an adjacentcomponent. As such, alignment component 402 a and alignment magnets 124,308 may all be coupled together based on the distinct magnetic fieldsproduced by each component.

Additionally as shown in the non-limiting example of FIG. 5,field-directing component 404 a may be formed as a repeater inductivecoil. The repeater inductive coil forming field-directing component 404a may be configured and/or formed from similar material as receiveinductive coil 122 of electronic device 100. Where field-directingcomponent 404 a is formed as a repeater inductive coil, field-directingcomponent 404 a may receive the transmitted power from transmitinductive coil 304 of charger 300 and may repeat the transmission toreceive inductive coil 122 of electronic device 100. In the non-limitingexample, transmit inductive coil 304 may pulse and provide an inductivepower transmission to the repeater inductive coil formingfield-directing component 404 a when charging the battery of electronicdevice 100. The repeater inductive coil forming field-directingcomponent 404 a may receive the inductive power transmission fromtransmit inductive coil 304 and may produce a distinct pulse to providean inductive power transmission to receive inductive coil 122 ofelectronic device 100. Receive inductive coil 122 may receive theinductive power transmission from repeater inductive coil formingfield-directing component 404 a, and may subsequently provide the powerto electronic device 100 for charging the battery.

In a non-limiting example shown in FIG. 6, alignment component 402 b maybe formed from a magnetic material or a material having magneticproperties, such as a ferrite material. Where alignment component 402 bis formed from a magnetic material such as a ferrite material, alignmentmagnets 124, 308 may each produce a magnetic field, and alignmentcomponent 402 b may not. However, as a result of the magnetic propertiesof the magnetic material forming alignment component 402 b and thepositioning of alignment component 402 b within protective case 200,alignment component 402 b may be magnetically coupled to alignmentmagnet 124 of electronic device 100 and alignment magnets 308 of charger300. Alignment component 402 b may be magnetically coupled to alignmentmagnets 124, 308 as a result of the respective magnetic fields generatedby alignment magnets 124, 308, and the magnetic properties of alignmentcomponent 402 b.

Field-directing component 404 a, as shown in FIG. 6, may be formed as arepeater inductive coil, similar to that of the non-limiting exampleshown in FIG. 5. Field-directing component 404 a of inductive couplingassembly 400, as shown in FIG. 6, may be formed from the same materialand/or function substantially similar to field-directing component 404 ashown and discussed herein with respect to FIG. 5. Redundant explanationof the component is omitted herein for clarity.

In a non-limiting example shown in FIG. 7, alignment component 402 a ofinductive coupling assembly 400 may be formed from a magnet. Alignmentcomponent 402 a, formed from a magnet in the non-limiting example shownin FIG. 7, may be substantially similar to the alignment component 402 ashown and discussed herein with respect to FIG. 5.

Additionally as shown in FIG. 7, field-directing component 404 b may beformed as a flux-transfer component. The flux-transfer component formingfield-directing component 404 b may be formed from a material havinghigh permeability to an inductive field, such as a ferrite material.Where field-directing component 404 b is formed from a flux-transfercomponent, the inductive power transmission provided by transmitinductive coil 304 may be relayed or passed to receive inductive coil122 of electronic device 100 through field-directing component 404 b. Asa result of field-directing component 404 b being formed from a materialhaving a high permeability to an inductive field (e.g., ferritematerial), field-directing component 404 b may act as a conduit fordirecting inductive power from the transmit inductive coil 304 to thereceive inductive coil 122. Dissimilar to the repeater inductive coil(see, FIGS. 5 and 6), when field-directing component 404 b is aflux-transfer component, field-directing component 404 b may not producea distinct inductive field. Rather, field-directing component 404 b mayaid in transmitting the inductive field generated by transmit inductivecoil 304 of charger 300 to receive inductive coil 122 of electronicdevice 100.

FIG. 8 depicts the alignment component 402 b formed from a magneticmaterial or a material having magnetic properties, and thefield-directing component 404 b formed as a flux-transfer component. Thealignment component 402 b in the non-limiting example shown in FIG. 8may be substantially similar to the alignment component 402 b shown anddiscussed herein with respect to FIG. 5. Additionally, thefield-directing component 404 b in the non-limiting example shown inFIG. 8 may be substantially similar to the field-directing component 404b shown and discussed herein with respect to FIG. 7. It is understoodthat each of the alignment component 402 b and the field-directingcomponent 404 b shown in FIG. 8 may be formed from the same materialand/or may function in a substantially similar fashion as discussedherein.

FIG. 9 shows a back view of another non-limiting example of protectivecase 200. In the non-limiting example, back portion 206 of body 202 mayinclude a recess 210. As shown in FIG. 9, recess 210 may be formedwithin back portion 206 of body 202 in alignment with inductive couplingassembly 400 positioned within body 202 of protective case 200. Asdiscussed herein, recess 210 may receive charger 300 when chargingelectronic device 100 positioned within protective case 200.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the non-limitingexample embodiment of protective case 200 shown in FIG. 9. As shown inFIG. 10, recess 210 may be formed partially through back portion 206 ofbody 202, adjacent to inductive coupling assembly 400. Additionally,recess 210 may be formed in alignment with internal inductive chargingassembly 120 of electronic device 100. As shown in FIG. 10, and withreference to FIG. 9, recess 210 formed in body 202 may have a diameterthat may be larger than the diameter of inductive coupling assembly 400and internal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronic device 100.The diameter of recess 210 may also be substantially the same size asthe diameter of contact plate 302 of charger 300. Recess 210 may includesuch a diameter to allow contact plate 302 of charger 300 to bepositioned within recess 210 of protective case 200 and aligned withinductive coupling assembly 400 and internal inductive charging assembly120, respectively. The diameter of recess 210 may also secure contactplate 302 to protective case 200 by a compression or retention fit whencharger 300 is utilized to charge the battery of electronic device 100through inductive coupling assembly 400 and internal inductive chargingassembly 120 of electronic device 100. In another non-limiting examplerecess 210 may include a releasable feature for releasably couplingcontact plate 302 to protective case 200 within recess 210.

FIG. 11 shows a back view of an additional non-limiting example ofprotective case 200. As shown in the example embodiment, protective case200 may also include a case battery 212. Case battery 212 may be formedor positioned within body 202, as similarly discussed herein withrespect to inductive coupling assembly 400. In a non-limiting example,case battery 212 may be positioned into back portion 206 of body 202,such that case battery 212 may not be exposed when positioned withinprotective case 200. As shown in FIG. 11, field-directing component 404a may be in electrical communication with case battery 212 of protectivecase 200. Field-directing component 404 a may be in electricalcommunication with case battery 212 to provide power to and/or increasea charge in case battery 212 of protective case 200. Case battery 212 ofprotective case 200 may be distinct and separate from the battery (notshown) of electronic device 100.

As shown in FIG. 11, case battery 212 may also be in electricalcommunication within electronic device 100. In a non-limiting example,case battery 212 may be in electrical communication with a chargingconnector 218 positioned or formed, at least partially, in body 202.Charging connector 218 may be any suitable component which may be inelectrical communication with electronic device 100 for providing powerfrom case battery 212 to the battery (not shown) of electronic device100. In a non-limiting example, charging connector 218 of protectivecase 200 may be a port charger positioned within and in electricalcommunication with a lightning opening (not shown) formed in orpositioned on the electronic device 100. As shown in FIG. 11, whenelectronic device 100 is positioned within body 202 of protective case200, electronic device 100 may be coupled to and electrically connectedto charging connector 218 of protective case 200.

When charging electronic device 100 using charger 300, as discussedherein, inductive coupling assembly 400 may “leak,” or redirect aportion of the power transmitted from transmit inductive coil 304 ofcharger 300 to case battery 212. The inductive coupling assembly 400 mayprovide the remainder of the power transmitted from transmit inductivecoil 304 to internal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronicdevice 100 for charging the battery (not shown) of electronic device100, as discussed herein. By leaking or redirecting a portion of thepower to case battery 212 of protective case 200, case battery 212 mayprovide an auxiliary or back-up battery for electronic device 100. Assuch, when the battery of electronic device 100 is low on charge andcannot be charged using charger 300, the power in case battery 212 maybe depleted to increase charge of the battery of electronic device 100.

FIG. 12 shows a side cross-sectional view of another non-limitingexample of inductive coupling assembly 400. As shown in FIG. 12,inductive coupling assembly 400 may be positioned within enclosure 102of electronic device 100. Inductive coupling assembly 400 may bepositioned within enclosure 102, between back wall 118 and an interiorsurface 126 of enclosure 102. Inductive coupling assembly 400 may bepositioned within enclosure 102 in a substantially similar manner asdiscussed herein with respect to protective case 200.

As shown in FIG. 12 and discussed herein, inductive coupling assembly400 may be positioned adjacent and/or substantially aligned withinternal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronic device 100. Thatis, alignment component 402 a may be aligned with and magneticallycoupled to alignment magnet 124 of electronic device 100. Additionally,as a result of the alignment between alignment component 402 a andalignment magnet 124, field-directing component 404 a may be alignedwith and in electrical communication with receive inductive coil 122 ofinternal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronic device 100.

Electronic device 100, as shown in FIG. 12 may also be covered and/orpositioned within protective case 200. When charging electronic device100, body 202 of protective case 200 may be positioned between inductivecoupling assembly 400 and charger 300, as discussed herein. Similar toFIGS. 5-8, inductive coupling assembly 400 may aid in the alignment ofcharger 300 and internal inductive charging assembly 120 of electronicdevice 100 and/or may aid in power transmission from transmit inductivecoil 304 of charger 300 and receive inductive coil 122 of electronicdevice 100. Alignment component 402 a may be magnetically coupled toand/or attracted to alignment magnets 124, 308, which may aid incoupling charger 300 to protective case 200 and/or electronic device 100when transmitting power to charge the battery (not shown) of electronicdevice 100. Additionally, alignment component 402 a may be aligned withalignment magnets 124, 308, which may in turn, align transmit inductivecoil 304 of charger 300 with receive inductive coil 122 of electronicdevice 100 and field-directing component 404 a of inductive couplingassembly 400. The inclusion of inductive coupling assembly 400 inenclosure 102 may aid in the power transmission as a result offield-directing component 404 a redirecting (or repeating) the inductivefield from transmit inductive coil 304 to receive inductive coil 122.Additionally, inductive coupling assembly 400 may aid in powertransmission by providing an intermediate inductive field transmitter(or repeater) between transmit inductive coil 304 and receive inductivecoil 122. The intermediate inductive field transmitter (or repeater) maystrengthen, increase and/or improve the power transmitted throughprotective case 200, prior to the power reaching receive inductive coil122.

In the non-limiting example shown in FIG. 12, inductive couplingassembly 400 may include alignment component 402 a formed as a magnetand field-directing component 404 a formed as a repeater inductive coil.However, alignment component 402 a and field-directing component 404 aof inductive coupling assembly 400, positioned within enclosure 102 ofelectronic device 100, may be formed from a plurality of materials, assimilarly discussed herein with respect to FIGS. 5-8. In anothernon-limiting example (not shown), alignment component 402 a may beformed from a magnetic material or a material having magneticproperties, such as a ferrite material, and field-directing component404 a may be formed as a flux-transfer component. The flux-transfercomponent forming field-directing component 404 a may be formed from amaterial having high permeability to an inductive field, such as aferrite material. In further non-limiting examples, alignment component402 a and field-directing component 404 a may be formed from anycombination of materials discussed herein.

FIG. 13 depicts an example electronic device having a battery and aninternal inductive charging assembly. The schematic representationdepicted in FIG. 13 may correspond to components of the portableelectronic devices described above, including electronic device 100depicted in FIGS. 1A-12. However, FIG. 13 may also more generallyrepresent other types of devices that are configured to use an inductivecharging assembly.

As shown in FIG. 13, electronic device 100 includes a processing unit502 operatively connected to computer memory 504 and computer-readablemedia 506. Processing unit 502 may be operatively connected to memory504 and computer-readable media 506 components via an electronic bus orbridge. Processing unit 502 may include one or more computer processorsor microcontrollers that are configured to perform operations inresponse to computer-readable instructions. Processing unit 502 mayinclude the central processing unit (CPU) of the device. Additionally oralternatively, processing unit 502 may include other processors withinthe device including application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) andother microcontroller devices.

Memory 504 may include a variety of types of non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media, including, for example, read accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable memory(e.g., EPROM and EEPROM), or flash memory. Memory 504 is configured tostore computer-readable instructions, sensor values, and otherpersistent software elements. Computer-readable media 506 also includesa variety of types of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediaincluding, for example, a hard-drive storage device, solid state storagedevice, portable magnetic storage device, or other similar device.Computer-readable media 506 may also be configured to storecomputer-readable instructions, sensor values, and other persistentsoftware elements.

In this example, processing unit 502 is operable to readcomputer-readable instructions stored on memory 504 and/orcomputer-readable media 506. The computer-readable instructions mayadapt processing unit 502 to charge the battery using the inductivecharging assembly, as described above with respect to FIGS. 1A-12. Thecomputer-readable instructions may be provided as a computer-programproduct, software application, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 13, electronic device 100 also includes a display 508.Display 508 may include a liquid-crystal display (LCD), organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, light emitting diode (LED) display, orthe like. If display 508 is an LCD, the display may also include abacklight component that can be controlled to provide variable levels ofdisplay brightness. If display 508 is an OLED or LED type display, thebrightness of the display may be controlled by controlling theelectrical signal that is provided to display elements.

Electronic device 100 can also include a battery 510. Battery 510 isconfigured to power the various components of the electronic deviceincluding for example, processing unit 502 and display 508. Battery 510is operatively connected with the various components of the electronicdevice 100, including inductive charging assembly 512 via an electronicbus or bridge and is configured to receive power from inductive chargingassembly 512.

The inductive charging assembly 512 is configured to be in electricalcommunication with a charger (not shown) of electronic device 100.Specifically, inductive charging assembly 512 may be in electricalcommunication with a charger to receive power for the charger, and forcharging battery 510 of electronic device 100. The inductive chargingassembly 512 includes an alignment component and a power receiveinductive coil for receiving power and/or inductive field transmitted bya power transmit inductive coil of the charger. Additionally, inductivecharging assembly 512 is configured to be in electrical communicationwith an inductive coupling assembly, as discussed herein, for improvingcharge efficiency and/or charge time for battery 510.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the specificembodiments described herein are presented for purposes of illustrationand description. They are not targeted to be exhaustive or to limit theembodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations arepossible in view of the above teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: an electronic devicecomprising: an enclosure; and an internal inductive charging assemblypositioned within the enclosure, and comprising a receive inductivecoil; a charger comprising a transmit inductive coil configured to bealigned with and in electrical communication with the receive inductivecoil; and an inductive coupling assembly positioned between the receiveinductive coil and the transmit inductive coil, the inductive couplingassembly comprising: a field-directing component configured to be inelectrical communication with at least one of: the transmit inductivecoil of the charger, or the receive inductive coil of the internalinductive charging assembly of the electronic device.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a protective case surrounding the electronicdevice and positioned between the enclosure and the charger.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein: the inductive coupling assembly is disposedwithin the protective case; and the inductive coupling assembly isaligned with the internal inductive charging assembly of the electronicdevice.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the field-directing componentof the inductive coupling assembly comprises one of: a repeaterinductive coil; or a flux-transfer component.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein: the inductive coupling assembly further comprises an alignmentcomponent positioned within a center of the field-directing component;and the alignment component is magnetically attracted to and alignedwith both a magnet of the charger, and a magnet of the internalinductive charging assembly.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein: thetransmit inductive coil of the charger is configured to produce aninductive field; and the field-directing component of the inductivecoupling assembly is configured to redirect an inductive field from thetransmit inductive coil to the receive inductive coil of the internalinductive charging assembly.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein: theinductive coupling assembly is embedded within a wall of the enclosureof the electronic device; and the inductive coupling assembly ispositioned adjacent to the internal inductive charging assembly of theelectronic device.
 8. A protective case coupled to an electronic devicehaving a receive inductive coil, the protective case comprising: a body;and an inductive coupling assembly positioned at least partially withinthe body, the inductive coupling assembly comprising: an alignmentcomponent; and a field-directing component surrounding the alignmentcomponent and configured to be aligned with and in electricalcommunication with the receive inductive coil of the electronic device.9. The protective case of claim 8, wherein: the field-directingcomponent is configured to be in electrical communication with thereceive inductive coil; and the field-directing component is configuredto redirect an inductive field supplied from an external charger to thereceive inductive coil.
 10. The protective case of claim 9, wherein: thebody comprises a recess formed adjacent to the inductive couplingassembly; and the recess is configured to receive the external chargerfor the electronic device and align a transmit inductive coil of thecharger with the field-directing component of the inductive couplingassembly.
 11. The protective case of claim 8, further comprising abattery positioned within the body.
 12. The protective case of claim 11,wherein the field-directing component is in electrical communicationwith the battery and configured to charge the battery.
 13. Theprotective case of claim 11, wherein the battery is in electricalcommunication with the electronic device.
 14. The protective case ofclaim 8, wherein the inductive coupling assembly is positioned within ina back portion of the body.
 15. A system comprising: an electronicdevice comprising: an enclosure; and an internal inductive chargingassembly positioned within the enclosure, and comprising a receiveinductive coil; and a case at least partially surrounding the enclosureand having an inductive coupling assembly embedded within a body of thecase and aligned with the receive inductive coil.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the inductive coupling assembly is molded within awall of the body.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the internalinductive charging assembly is configured to electrically communicatewith an external charger positioned adjacent the body of the case. 18.The system of claim 17, wherein the charger is configured to be inelectrical communication with the field-directing component of theinductive coupling assembly.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein: theelectronic device includes a battery positioned within the enclosure;the battery is in electrical communication with the receive inductivecoil.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the case includes a casebattery operatively coupled to the battery of the electronic device.